COLLABORATIVE LAW:

    Collaborative law is a fairly new way to resolve disputes by removing the disputed issues from the court room setting and treating the process as a way to problem solve rather than to fight and win.

    Each party retains their own separate attorney, whose job it is to help them settle the dispute. No one may go to court. If that should occur, the collaborative law process terminates and both attorneys are disqualified from any further involvement in the case.

    The parties sign a contractual agreement which include the following terms:

1.  Disclosure of Documents.  Each party agrees to honestly and openly disclose all documents and information relating to the issues. Neither spouse may take advantage of a miscalculation or an inadvertent mistake. Instead, such errors are identified and corrected;

2.  Respect.  Each party agrees to act respectfully and avoid disparaging or vilifying any of the participants;

3.  Insulating Children.  The parties agree to insulate the children from the proceeding and to act in such a way as to minimize the impact of the divorce on them.

4.  Sharing Experts.  The parties agree to implement outside experts when necessary and share the costs related to those experts. (e.g. real estate appraisers, business appraisers, parenting consultants, vocational evaluators, or accountants)

5.  Win-Win Solutions.  The primary goal of the process is to work toward an amicable solution and to create a "win-win" situation for all.

6.  No Court.  Neither party may seek or threaten court action to resolve disputes. If the parties decide to go to court, the attorneys must withdraw and the process begins anew in the court system.

    Certainly, collaborative law will not work in every case.  It takes two willing participants committed to effectively use the collaborative law process.


MEDIATION: 

Robert L. Gigliotti, is currently on the Mediation Panel for the Los Angeles Superior Court, and offers mediation, as well as litigation services. The primary advantage mediation affords over litigation is it allows amicable spouses to make decisions themselves that would otherwise be made in Court by a Judge.

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